Attorney's A No-show At Grievance Hearing

July 12, 2007|By KIM MARTINEAU; Courant Staff Writer

A Killingworth attorney accused of overcharging for legal work he did on a waterline project on Cedar Island in Clinton skipped a hearing Wednesday before the Statewide Grievance Committee, pushing him closer to a possible court reprimand or even disbarment.

David Thomas, 53, had been subpoenaed to appear before the grievance committee at a courthouse in Bridgeport with bank statements, cashed checks and his legal files. Instead, Thomas requested by mail a second postponement, which the committee denied Wednesday.

Residents who own summer cottages on Cedar Island claim that Thomas improperly paid himself $80,000 in funds meant to cover construction costs for the waterline. Tom Burns, a cottage owner from Essex, drove to Bridgeport hoping to hear Thomas explain what happened to the money.

``I'd just like him to answer one thing, face to face,'' Burns said after the hearing. ``Give me an answer, that's all I want.''

The Cedar Island Improvement Association, made up of about 50 residents who own cottages on a short strip of sand off the shore of Clinton, hired Thomas four years ago to oversee the installation of a new waterline under Long Island Sound.

The waterline, connecting mainland Clinton to the ``island'' -- a peninsula jutting out from Hammonasset Beach State Park -- was built in 2004. A year later it had to be reinstalled because subcontractors had failed to bury the pipe deep enough to escape nicks from passing motorboats and shellfish dredges.

As costs spiraled, Thomas failed to keep his clients informed, the cottage owners claim. They had no written agreement related to Thomas' fees, but one day they received an invoice and were shocked to learn that their attorney had paid himself nearly $80,000 from a $350,000 fund they had assigned to him to cover construction costs, according to an e-mail invoice provided by the homeowners' new attorney, Bruce Newman.

The cost of the project has nearly doubled, to well over $500,000. Homeowners originally expected to pay $6,200 per cottage but now the waterline will cost at least $11,000 per cottage -- a bill that's tough to stomach for longtime residents who are retired and living on fixed incomes.

The Cedar Island Improvement Association filed a complaint of attorney misconduct, which paved the way for Wednesday's hearing before the grievance panel.

The association has filed a lawsuit alleging legal malpractice and charging an excessive fee. The lawsuit is an attempt to recover the $80,000 that the homeowners claim Thomas owes, plus attorney fees and damages.